Setting for steam-boilers



(No Model.) 2 Sheets-Sheet 1.

W. W. BURK.

' SETTING FOR STEAM BOILER S. No. 527,106. Patented Oct. 9,1894.

TTEET. L INvENTfi BY RTTElT-TNEZY (No Model.) 2 Sheets-Sheet 2.

I w. W. BURK.

SETTING FOR STEAM BOILERS.

No. 527,106. PatentedOot. 9, 1894.

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' UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

' WILLIAM w. BURK, F CLEVELAND, OHIO.

SETTING FoR STEAM-BOILERS.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 527,106, dated October 9, 1894.

Application filed April 2, 1894. Serial No. 506,031- (No model.)

T0 on whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, WILLIAM W. BURK, a citizen of the United States, residing at Cleveland, in the county of Ouyahoga and State of Ohio, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Settings for Steam-Boilers;

and Ido hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and exact description of theinvention, which will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same. t

My invention relates to settings for steam boilers, and the invention consists in the construction and arrangement of parts substantially as shown and described and particularly pointed out in the claims.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 is a vertical sectional elevation substantially on line 1, 1, Fig. 3. Fig. 2 is ahorizontal section of the furnace looking down and taken on a line corresponding to 2, 2, Figs. 1 and 3. Fig. 3 is a front elevation of the boiler setting. Fig. 4 is a cross section taken on a line corresponding substantially to 3, 3, Fig. 1. Fig.5 is an enlarged verticalsectional elevation of the mechanism connected immediately with the coal chamber and air passage at the front of the furnace, and showing said chamber and passage in vertical section and the means for closing the same, as hereinafter fully specified. Fig. 6 is an enlarged cross-section of the steam supply pipe and one of its'jets.

The purpose of this invention is to economize fuel and to prevent smoke by producing perfect combustion. To these ends I provide for roasting the coal before feeding it to the furnace, and supply air at different points where it is required to effect combustion. To further promote this last object I also provide for the introduction of jets of steam along with air in such relation to the body of the fire as to get the best efiect and prevent the escaping of combustible gases which would otherwise disappear up the chimney unconsumed. I anl'of course aware that in any broadsense it is not new to heat coal before it is fed to the furnace, and I am also aware that broadly it is not new to introduce steam, superheated or otherwise, into the furnace, but I am not aware that the construc: tion described in this specification has ever before been known or used.

A represents the boiler, and B the front or front plate of the furnace. It will be noticed that this front plate B is set out at an unusual distance from the end of the boiler and from the outer ends of the grate bars 0. This is done more especially to provide a suitable space and place for the roasting or coking chambers D. These chambers in the furnace here shown are arranged one for each coaling door E, and immediately behind the same, and may consist in a special metallic boxing or frame set into the front wall of the furnace, or simply of a chamber having its sides, top and bottom formed by the wall itself. However, I prefer to set a special chamber frame into the wall and build the wall thereto, and then I employ the door E swinging from the front plate B to open and close said chamber. The depth of this chamber from front to rear may be greater or less, according to the size and use of the furnace, and the inner end of the chamber discharges directly upon the grate bars 0. Immediately over the said chamber or chambers D are one or more permanently opened air passages F, which discharge into the furnace over the mass of coal fed in through the said chambers. These openings likewise will be in size and character to correspond with the size and use of the furnace, and. although they are made to be permanently open, they may be provided with means for closing them, if preferred.

The coal that is fed into the furnace necessarily passes through the roasting or coking chambers D, and by reason of its exposure to the heat of the furnace becomes-intensely heated before it is fed to the flame. The result is that when the coal comes to the flame it is ready at once for purposes of combustion and does not'first have to go through a gradual process of warming and heating, and in this operation giving ofl a great volume of unconsumed gases and smoke, as usually occurs when cold fuel is thrown upon the fire. Now, when it becomes necessary to add additional fuel it is desirable that there should not be a great inrush of'cold air when the coaling doors are opened, because that only has a tendency to cool off the furnace and cause the loss of considerable heat. To avoid this result I have provided each chamber D through to the body of the coal.

with a swinging door G upon its inside so arranged as to serve for closing the said chamher just in proportion as it may have the coal exhausted therefrom. If the said chamber be filled full of coal the door G will remain in its raised position, as seen in Fig. 1, notwithstanding that thecoaling door be opened, but if the supply of coal be reduced, as, for example, in Fig. 5, whenthe coaling door is open, the door G will drop to position in said figure and close the chamber against the volume of inflowing air. If the said door G be free to operate and should drop to position in Fig. 5, it will at once be opened as in Fig. 1 when the door E is closed, by reason of the block wedge H connected by a curved arm J with the door E, said wedge engaging an arm K on the inner door G. Obviously other mechanism than that here shown may be introduced between the two doors E and G'for automatically opening or closing the door G when the door E is closed or opened, and I do not wish to be limited in this part of my invention to the particular means here shown. I

In the foregoing description it has been shown that I introduce more or less fresh air to the furnace over the body of the fire from the front, and this is altogether sufficient for the purpose so far as the needs of the furnace at this point are concerned. However, I find it very advantageous to introduce air also to the furnace from its rear, and to this end have built the wall L with air passages N extending longitudinally back from the front of the furnace to the rear thereof, and wholly within the walls of the same. These lateral passages going to the rear communicate at the front in other right angled portions with the main inlet passage M, two of which passages M are shown in this furnace. There may be one or more, but here there is one corresponding to each door of the furnace and immediately beneath the same. This passage M is shown here as substantially on the same horizontal plane as the top of the grate bars, and affords an open passage way Howeverit is not understood that any very great amount of air finds its way in through the coal by reason of this opening, especiallyif the cheaper grades of coal be used, and furthermore it is certainly not hurtful, if it be indeed not helpful, that some air be admitted into the furnace at this point. However, I show swinging doors or lidsP for closing these passages M, and I may have means for doing this which will close the opening more or less so that the quantity of air passing in through these channels can be regulated.

At their rear the lateral passages N discharge into. the cross channel having the steam inlet pipe R extending into the same from one side of the furnace. This pipe is laid in the chamber or channel walled upon all sides but having openings at its front for the jets -2-- through which the steam is discharged into the furnace. The small passages in the front wall 4 into which the steamjets '2 project are large enoughto afford passage for the air, and it occurs when a head of steam is on and the steam is ejected from the said jets that it siphons in air with it and the-two elements are carried together into the flame and there made to contribute to combustion.

It will thus be seen that I supply air to the furnace at several points, and in the nature of things there will be more or less air going up through the grates, but I do not mean to admit more than a limited supply at most of air through the grates.

By arranging the air and steam jets at the rear of the furnace and directing the jets diagonally across the furnace toward the front I am enabled to reach the unconsumed gases which are evolved from the coal and which by being mixed with oxygen get consumed and contribute to the volume of heat instead of escaping for want of oxygen and proper combustion, as they are apt to do if oxygen be not supplied atthis point.

Looking inward on Fig. t we see that the jets 2 are arranged on the segment of a circle deepest at the center. This corresponds substantially to the curvature of the boiler and the concave arch 5- beneath the boiler.

It will be noticed that this arch has its curvature substantially corresponding to the on Weture of the boiler, and that it is deepest at front and runs more shallow toward the rear. The object of this construction is to maintain uniformity of heat as nearly as possible over the bottom surface of the boiler from the front to the rear of said arch. Obviously, the heat is most intense at the point next to the furnace and it diminishes in volume as it passes to the rear. I therefore bring the arch 5- gradually toward the boiler from front to rear so as to compensate for this diminution of heat, and am enabled by this construction to have the same proportion of heat units operating on the boiler at the point -6 as I am at the front of the arch. This construction of arch therefore works considerable economy in the furnace and enables me to heat a boiler more rapidly than I could without and to maintain heat of the boiler with less fuel than would otherwise be possible.

A further feature is the rock grate S at the rear of the grate bars 0. I am aware that rock grates in furnaces are not new, I have a construction comprising the said grate S, pivoted centrally at its ends in the wall, and provided with a downwardly extending arm -8- to which is connected a rod -9 from the lever -10 to the front. This lever is pivoted at its lower end and is set contrally in the front of the furnace between the doors E, where it is out of the way and where it is always cold. In fact, it is one of the pe culiarities of this construction of furnace that the front is cold at all places, and that neath the boiler.

there is not that excessive waste of heat in this direction which is so common in furnaces generally. Whatever radiation ofv heat there is in this direction is absorbed by the air or the coal and is taken back into the furnace and utilized. This initself works material economy in fuel.

It will be noticed that there are shown here two roasting chambers D, with air passagesfrom the outside both through beneath the body of coal and over the top, and the two passages afford all the airnecessary to effect perfect combustion of the gases arising from the bed of coal in the said chambers and the ovens which are a continuation thereof. Each chamber D has its own oven, and each oven-has an arch 20 between the side wall 2l and the middle wall or partition 2. The depth of these ovens is shown here as nearly half the depth of the grate bars and they are built in some distance be- Now, the theory or principle of this construction is as follows: The coal becomes thoroughly coked in the chambers and ovens and emits gases which commingle with the inflowing air and both become highly heated. How hot will be understood by saying that the walls and arches of the ovens are a cherry red when the furnace is under full head. But I have discovered that the boiler is a reducer or absorber of heat or temperature, andtherefore have built my ovens so that combustion will be effected therein before the gases strike the boiler. Then the flame alone strikes the boiler and there is no unconsumed gas passing off out the chimney on account of imperfect combustion. All gases are positively converted into flame before they can possibly strike the,

boiler and thus insure perfect com bustion and avoid all smoke. The coke then Works out on the grate and combustion is further promoted by air fed directly thereto. The smoke making elements, however, are eliminated before this occurs. None but heated coal comes into before the ovens are into or through them after coaling has been done, and the furnace is in operation. This is necessary in orderto effect the coking or roasting of the coal in the said chamber and without which the object of my invention would be defeated. I have found that it is impossible to successfully coke the coal and eliminate the gases therefrom in the presence of a volume of inrushing cold air, and hence.

chamber built into the front wall thereof and closed to prevent entrance of air through the coal, an arched combustion oven into which said chamber discharges and a supporting wall at the center of the said arch subdividing said oven, substantially as setv forth.

2. The furnace described having a fuel supply chamber confined within the front wall thereof andclosed to exclude the passage of air through said chamber, and an arched oven extending inward under the boiler from the inner end of said chamber, and air supply passages above said chamber discharging into the top of the said oven, substantially as set forth.

3. The boiler and the furnace wall having the boiler built therein, a fuel supply chamber built into the front of 'said wall, an arched oven extending inward from over'the top of said chamber and overlapping the front end of the boiler and a fresh air passage over said fuel chamber and discharging into the top of the oven, in combination with air inlet passages through the rear wall of the furnace, substantially as set forth.

Witness my hand to the foregoing specification.

WILLIAM W. BURK. v Witnesses:

H. T. FISHER, GEORGIA SCHAEFFER. 

